1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to ecologically friendly fuel products and fire starters and, more particularly, to ecologically friendly fuel products such as, for example, fuel logs, blocks, bricks, pellets and the like, and fire starters made from organic and inorganic material.
2. Description of the Related Art
The search for new energy sources is on ongoing concern for all humanity as a rate of depletion of oil reserves and other energy sources such as, for example, coal, natural gas, wind, solar, nuclear, hydrogen, increases with rising demand. Additionally, concerns grow over the treatment of waste products with respect to, for example, safety, reliability, and disposal of the waste product. Accordingly, the inventor has determined that the exploitation of new energy sources can go hand-in-hand with addressing the problem of how to dispose of and potentially reuse, recycle, or usefully convert, all of the waste material and products, both organic and inorganic, produced by humans and/or animals in commercial, agricultural and/or industrial activities. As the protection and preservation of the environment is of paramount concern, the reuse and recycling of all manner of waste product, human and non-human, organic and inorganic, is being undertaken at all levels of society, whether it is personal, occupational, or governmental level.
One of the most common and overlooked sources of waste and potential energy is livestock manure which can include, but is not limited to, manure produced by cattle, horses, sheep, goats, pigs, poultry, and the like. Such waste materials accumulate in amounts over millions of pounds per year. These waste materials must be disposed of in environmentally safe and governmentally approved methods. With economic circumstances squeezing agricultural and other establishments using animals and live stock, such as small farms and/or sporting facilities, along with the increased costs and complexities of appropriately disposing of all the waste materials and products, establishments are investigating ways to convert the waste material into a usable product. It is generally known that if a usable fuel can be generated from such waste material, the fuel would be both eco friendly and profitable for the establishment. The prior art discloses a variety of methods and processes for converting various types of organic and inorganic material into usable fuel product.
For example, Jackman (U.S. Pat. No. 3,910,775) is seen to describe a method and an apparatus for handling refuse, using waste and treating raw sewage wherein the material is processed into a source of energy.
Beningson et al. (U.S. Pat. No. 4,063,903) is seen to describe an apparatus for disposal of solid wastes and recovery of fuel product therefrom through the conversion of the organic fraction of such wastes to fuel by the recovery of the constituents of the inorganic fashion.
Schulz (U.S. Pat. No. 4,152,119) is seen to describe briquettes of a specified geometry and composition that are produced to serve as feed material or “burden” in a moving-burden gasifier for the production of a synthesis or fuel gas from organic solid waste materials and coal.
Nielsen (U.S. Pat. No. 4,372,749) is seen to describe a method for the manufacturing of fuel briquettes from selected components of garbage that are comminuted and combined with coal dust.
Lindemann (U.S. Pat. No. 4,496,365) is seen to describe a method of producing briquettes from organic waste products by the use of high pressure to produce sterilized fuel briquettes of high heating values.
White (U.S. Pat. No. 6,506,223) is seen to describe a fuel pellet that is produced by the combination of organic waste material with a binder obtained by direct liquefaction and/or fast pyrolysis of biomass material.
Miller (U.S. Pat. No. 6,544,425) is seen to describe a method of dewatering coal tailings and slurries and removing contaminants therefrom.
Cullen (U.S. Patent Application Pub. No. US 2007/0006526 A1) is seen to describe fuel pellet briquettes manufactured from biomass and recovered coal slurries.
Philipson (U.S. Pat. No. 7,252,691) is seen to describe a process for the conversion of municipal solid waste to combustible pellets of high fuel value.
Nonetheless, despite the ingenuity of the above apparatuses, methods, and processes, there remains a need for ecologically friendly fuel products and fire starters and, more particularly, for ecologically friendly fuel products such as, for example, fuel logs, blocks, bricks, pellets and the like, and fire starters made from organic and inorganic material including for example, waste matter, readily available on agricultural and livestock establishments such as, for example, farms and/or sporting establishments.